A healer is a type of character class in gaming. When a game includes a health game mechanic and multiple classes, often one of the classes will be designed around the restoration of allies' health, known as healing, in order to delay or prevent their defeat. Such a class can be referred to as a healer. In addition to healing, healer classes are sometimes associated with buffs to assist allies in other ways, and nukes to contribute to the offense when healing is unnecessary.

A description of Healers from the Nethack guidebook: Healers are wise in medicine and apothecary. They know the herbs and simples that can restore vitality, ease pain, anesthetize, and neutralize poisons; and with their instruments, they can divine a being's state of health or sickness. Their medical practice earns them quite reasonable amounts of money, with which they enter the dungeon.^[1]

When both healer and tank classes exist, a common strategy is for the healer to focus healing on an allied tank, while the tank prevents other allies, including the healer, from losing health.

Healers are often represented as a fantasy spell-caster, a medic, a repairman, or the like.

[edit] Abilities

A healer is generally tasked with restoring health, removing poison-like effects, and raising the dead back to life. Different games may include different mechanics, such as the ability to deal damage or to enhance the attributes of their allies.

[edit] See also

• Tank (gaming) is another common archetype focused on drawing enemy damage.
• Spell-caster (gaming) is another common archetype focused on dealing damage, while being relatively weak.
• DPS is another common archetype also focused on dealing damage.

[edit] References